Congratulations, you won!

Going back to an old post from September, it turns out that my children's literature class was right about one of our nominations for the 2010 Caldecott Medal. The winner was declared at this year's ALA's mid-winter conference in Boston, Jerry Pinkney's "The Lion and the Mouse". I've posted this book a few times, once in my entry about best children's book illustrations. It retells the Aesop's Fable of the Lion and the mouse, about mutual good deeds and their karmic effect. There are only seven words in the book, all sound effects. The award is given to Pinkney as reflecting the highest accomplishments for that year in children's book illustration.

The Lion & the Mouse - written and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, which as it turns out is the book my professor, Maria Salvadore, had favored to win.

A horse doesn't smoke of course...of course?

Another gem from Awful Library Books today, this one is overbearingly promoting anti-drug themes to young children by using horses as models. Illustrations are here. Entitled Latwana, the Naughty Horse, Learns to say 'No' to Drugs, Latwana gives in to the peer pressure after she observes her friend Connie and her sisters smoking and doing drugs. Now I'm all for anti-drug books for children, but does using smoking horses really achieve the desired result? I think it comes off less as a "Just Say No" campaign and more like a botched Mr. Ed promo. According to the book, Latwana only begins to regret her decisions after feeling dizzy and woozy. I think one ought to use shock treatment and show kids the more harmful effects of smoking and drinking, like what happens to your lungs and liver. An overdose is mentioned when her father explains that one of his friends "accidentaly took an overdose" and died. Latwana is not only barraged with this but also horrid peer pressure from her friends hurling insults such as "you're square", and the guilt wrought from her parents' lectures. This is enough to convince Latwana that smoking and drinking are bad choices or as she puts it "a no no".

You can read the entire book here.